Origin Energy : Response to second meeting with the Prime Minister

Origin also reiterated the need for a Clean Energy Target to stimulate investment in new power supply in order to bring genuine and lasting price relief to Australians.

Origin CEO, Frank Calabria said, 'Customers deserve a fair deal on energy, and the onus is on all retailers to simplify communication and make sure offers can be easily compared. We must also continue to protect people in financial hardship.

'Australians rightly expect that we will do something about power prices on their behalf. We support the Prime Minister's plan to bring power prices down, which needs to happen in two parts - action by retailers, and a whole of industry and government approach to solving energy policy.

'First, Origin is already doing a range of things to help customers and we're proud to be one of the industry leaders on supporting hardship customers and offering innovative products like Predictable Plan which help manage household budgets by allowing customers to 'lock in' a fixed price for their energy.

'We are happy to commit to doing even more to help existing and new customers get on the right energy deal for them.

'We strongly support initiatives being applied across the entire industry, so that all Australian homes and businesses have access to clear, simple and comparable energy offers.

'The second part of the solution is a whole of industry and government approach. Retailers are one part of the energy supply chain, while network costs account for around half of a customers' bill and wholesale costs around 30 per cent. We need networks, power generators, retailers and governments, to work together in order to bring prices down.

'Our energy sector is changing and we're moving rapidly towards a cleaner, smarter and more customer centric energy future. We urgently need a Clean Energy Target to guide the necessary investment in new energy supply. We encourage the government to find a way through on energy policy. It is the most critical action we can take to deliver all Australians genuine and lasting relief on electricity prices,' Mr Calabria said.

Initiatives Origin commits to:

1. Driving adoption of an industry-wide comparator rate that makes it easy for customers to compare apples with apples on offers.
2. Continuing to promote our competitive offers to existing and new customers. We encourage customers to visit our website or call us to make sure they're on the best deal possible.
3. Continuing to write to customers before their plans end to advise what they need to do to get on a new offer, and writing to customers on expired discounts, providing yet another opportunity to get a better deal. We've also committed to writing to customers on standing offers to let them know what other offers are available.
4. Protecting those in financial hardship and Origin has already made sure these customers will not pay the recent increases, as well as offering payment plans, matched bill payments and access to financial advice.
5. Taking the lead to help customers better manage their household budget by introducing initiatives like Predictable Plan, which allows customers to lock in a fixed-price for their monthly or fortnightly energy use.

Australian Energy Regulator 'About energy bills' fact sheet